Andy Stewart
Andy Stewart (1933-1993) was a Scottish singer, mimic, comedian and entertainer. He based his style on music hall and in particular Harry Lauder (recording an album of his material in 1969), consistently wearing tartan on stage, and recorded songs that veered from the patriotic to the broadly comic. He originally wanted to be a vet, then studied acting at the Scottish equivalent of RADA. Stewart moved into television in the 50s, presenting the White Heather Club for BBC Scotland for 11 years, both as a New Year's Eve party programme and during the weekdays. In the 1970s Scotch Corner and Andy's Party were networked in the UK on daytime TV, attracting large audiences. His two biggest hits illustrated the contrasting sides of his personality. A Scottish Soldier was based on The Green Hills Of Tyrol, originally a pipe band favourite whose tune had been lifted from Gioachino Rossini's 1829 opera Guglielmo Tell (William Tell). In 1961 it set a record for spending 36 weeks in the UK top 40 without ever entering the top 10 (it rose no higher than #19). Donald, Where's Your Troosers?, an amusing ditty allegedly written by Stewart in 10 minutes while using a recording studio lavatory, scraped the top 40 at the end of 1960 but was rediscovered by Simon Mayo on daytime Radio 1 in 1989, with consistent airplay sending it to #4. In the original, Stewart put his mimicry to good effect by including an Elvis Presley impression mid-song, which bizarrely was reworked on the 1989 12 inch into an acid house mid-section. Ill health dogged his career, and after a series of operations he retired to Arbroath, only to return to performing in 1991. He died shortly after giving a charity concert. In common with many other interpreters of Scottish folk music, he was almost entirely shunned by Peel, who preferred the Scottish folk-rock of the JSD Band or the gritty protest material of Dick Gaughan. The extremely romantic content of many of Stewart's recordings marked him out as more suitable for a middle of the road station such as Radio 2, alongside popular, classically trained "drawing room folk singers" like Moira Anderson and Kenneth MacKellar and the Scottish country dance band of Jimmy Shand. It should also be noted that his persona and performances divided opinion in Scotland very much on generational lines; many of the Scottish artists who were championed by and recorded sessions for Peel, from the Incredible String Band to the Associates, are likely to have regarded him as an embarrassing figure, close to being an Uncle Tom. In the 1970s and 1980s, The White Heather Club, Andy Stewart and the other singers mentioned above were seen as projecting a dated, folksy "kailyard" image of Scotland which many educated young Scots, whether rock and pop fans or traditional folk music enthusiasts, were keen to consign to the past. Along these lines, the 1990 single "Good Morning Britain" - a caustic view of the contemporary socio-political environment recorded by two erstwhile Peel favourites, Aztec Camera Not coincidentally, the band's Glasgow-based record label Postcard referred to itself as "The Sound Of Young Scotland".and Mick Jones of the Clash - included among its cutting lyrics a sarcastic reference to the resurrection the previous year of Donald, Where's Your Troosers?. In 1984, Peel played a record by Andy Stewart given to him at a gig in Scotland: Cowboy Jock From Skye attempts to straddle the country and Scottish folk genres (with a hint of Lonnie Donegan). JP admitted before playing it, "You'll probably not like this," and said after it had finished, "Something of an own goal there." It didn't stop there when Peel played a football song supporting the Scottish national football team by Rabble FC featuring Andy Stewart, which was released just before the 1990 World Cup. The song was played at the end of his 16 May 1990 show after Bim Sherman's Nightmare track: "Of course, one man's nightmare is another man's, well, nightmare, and here's something that will get Nicky Campbell in the mood for his programme after the news" Festive Fifty Entries *None Sessions *None Other Shows Played *13 November 1984: 'Cowboy Jock From Skye (7")' (Top Rank International) *16 May 1990: Scotland Scotland (7") Stone (featuring Rabble FC) References External Links *Wikipedia *AllMusic *Independent obituary *Fan site Category:Artists